The word curious has two meanings. Both apply here.
Who are these curious women?
We're going to channel Margie here and first tell you what the League is not.
They are not all highly educated, neither are they all auto-didacts. They're not set in their ways or full of themselves. They're not afraid to admit when they haven't done the required reading—Ulysses, anyone?—but they won't fault you if you have. They carry little notebooks everywhere—often accompanied by snacks—to jot down questions. They mark their magazines and newspapers and tablets with highlighters when a reference is unknown to them.
Oh! Almost forgot. The League is not all women. It's 2024. Every curious person is welcome. Some of them are sentimentalists, however, and while the subject of a name change comes up every few years, the idea always gets pushed aside by something more interesting. Everyone from Shakespeare to the Finders knows the pitiful value of a label. Just ask Chastity. So, for now, the word Women remains in. Maybe next year.
They don't have an average age because there is nothing average about them. Suffice to say the League includes Curious people of all ages. But no cats. Curiosity is said to be life threatening for them. Also, some of the members are allergic.
By way of an affirmative statement, this one says it all. League members are capital C Curious. Tuned in. And still learning.
How long has this been going on?
The League was formed on Staten Island, New York in 1961. Or was it Manhattan in 1882? Or was it Salome Plain in some unknown year? It's an elusive and unimportant detail. The League was never much for backward glances.
That said, if you're really dying to know, the story of the class of '69 is told in Chastity's book, The League of Curious Women, which is coming out soon. So, hold that question. It's actually a good story.
What are these curious people up to?
When Chastity, Rina, and Patience met for the first time that was question one. What was the big freaking mystery Connie and Margie were dancing around? Turns out it was information well worth protecting with a nice soft shoe. Maybe even an arabesque here or there. While we can't spell it out in great detail, the mystery was the Rudiments. We're quoting Margie here:
The Rudiments are powerful forces that dictate the whole of the human experience. How we live and how we die. If flesh and bone and blood make up our physical beings, Rudiments make up the rest. Our personality. Our behavior. Our very essence.
With that clue in mind then, we will reveal that what the League does is Newiteration. Known in less obfuscatory circles as upcycling.
Consider some lower case raw material. A hunk of denim, for example. During iteration one, it’s made into clothing. A jacket, maybe, or one of those long skirts Chastity lives in. Hopefully, this original manufacturing process is not performed by eight-year-olds in a sweat shop but who knows? We’re all familiar with the slippery concept of corporate due diligence. Another reason the League's work is on point.
In any event, when that first life is over there’s a trip through a yard sale or a thrift store or maybe a junk removal company. One way or another, that jacket or skirt finds itself cut open—its very essence exposed—at the Thoughtful Deconstruction table, resulting in some capitalized Raw Material.
That’s when the real fun begins. Discovering new and whimsical ways to put that Raw Material to a new use. You can see some of our designs here.